Adam Hadwin finishes tied for 24th at Masters

Through the first two rounds of the Masters in Augusta, Ga., B.C. golfer Adam Hadwin flirted with top spot on the prestigious tournament’s leaderboard.

And though he dropped down the list as the weekend wore on, the Abbotsford native – who lists South Surrey’s Morgan Creek Golf Course as his home track – still finished 24th, a dozen spots higher than he did last year, in his first-ever appearance at the tournament, which is one of golf’s four “majors.”

Hadwin finished the four-round event at one-under par, tied with fellow golfers Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim and Bernd Wiesberger. The winner of the Masters’ green jacket – not to mention the $1.98-million prize for first place – was American Patrick Reed, who shot 15-under par to beat Rickie Fowler by one stroke.

Hadwin earned a $93,775 pay day.

It was also his best-ever finish at a major, and bumped him to 41st from 43rd in the world golf rankings.

Though he finished more than a dozen shots off the lead, the Abbotsford golfer – who turned pro in 2009 and has been on the PGA Tour since 2015 – had a strong showing at the par-72 Augusta National course. Throughout the first and second rounds he periodically found himself tied for first place – though he never held the spot outright – and he was firmly inside the top-10 on Thursday and most of Friday, until a double-bogey on the 18th hole Friday afternoon saw him drop 10 spots to 18th.

Just one of Hadwin’s four rounds were over-par – he opened with a three-under 69, shot a three-over 75 Friday, and on the weekend, carded rounds of even-par 72 and one-under 71.

The 18th hole – a 465-yard par 4 – gave him trouble in all four rounds. He bogeyed the hole in rounds one, three and four, and shot the aforementioned two-over 6 on Friday.

On Saturday, Hadwin’s fellow Canadian golfer, Mackenzie Hughes – who did not compete at the Masters – tweeted that “the chute on 18 is so much narrower than it looks… and it looks super narrow” to which Hadwin replied, “Tell me about it!”

After his opening round of 69 – which put him into a fourth-place tie heading into Round 2 – Hadwin managed to vault up the leaderboard into a first-place tie before he even teed off Friday morning, after plenty of leaderboard shuffling from golfers who teed off earlier than him.

Even before Thursday’s official opening round, Hadwin’s trip to Augusta was a memorable one. Earlier in the week, Hadwin participated in the pre-Masters Par 3 Tournament – which this year was highlighted by the grandson of Jack Nicklaus sinking a hole-in-one. For that event, Hadwin had his wife, Jessica, serve as his caddy.

Hadwin, a noted hockey fan, also took time out of his week to pay tribute to the Vancouver Canucks’ Sedin twins, who played their last NHL games last week. Prior to a game Thursday night at Rogers Arena – the Canucks’ last home game of the season – Hadwin tweeted out a photo of his laptop, which he was using to watch the game, with a message for the Canucks’ beloved Swedish twins.

“If it weren’t for this tournament called The Masters, I would be there to send off the Sedins. Guess this view will have to do! Congrats on an incredible career on the ice and for being even better people off of it! The city of Van was lucky to have you!”

If it werent for this tournament called The Masters, I would be there to send off the Sedins. Guess this view will have to do! Congrats on an incredible career on the ice and for being even better people off of it! The city of Van was lucky to have you! pic.twitter.com/r5MY4DXTj4